Type 89 Chi-Ro Medium tank (1929)
Type 89 was the first Japanese serial production tank of domestic design. The Type 89 Chi-Ro was a Japanese medium tank of the 1930s, created in 1929. The Type 89 was also the world's first production tank with a diesel engine. This distinctively boxy, slab sided vehicle was essentially a Japanese variation upon the theme of the British Vickers Mark 'C', featuring Japanese armament, a domestically produced air-cooled gasoline engine, and a slightly different internal layout.
First developed in 1929, what was then classified as the "Yi-Ro" waited to enter service until an appropriate version of Japan's 57mm Type 90 field gun, was developed for use in a vehicle mounting. Uniquely, the Type 89 would also be the first Japanese armored vehicle to utilize the extremely reliable bell and scissor crank type suspension, developed by Major Tomio Hara, which would become standard for all Japanese armored vehicles.
By European standards, was outdated by the time of its appearance, but laid the foundation for the entire Japanese tank building enterprise. In the 1930s, before the start of mass production of tanks "Ha-Go" and "Chi-Ha", the Type 89 formed the basis of the Japanese tank forces. By the beginning of the Pacific War, it was mainly replaced in the army by more modern tanks, but the last battles of this type of machine were taken in 1944 in the Philippines. In the literature, the name “Chi-Ro” is sometimes used, which stands for “middle first”, but it appeared already in the West.
The basis for its design was the British Medium Mk.C tanks of the Great War, purchased by the Japanese army in 1927. On their basis, the Japanese created in 1929 a prototype tank “Osaka Ryokogun Dzhey No. 2” or “Type 2587” weighing 9.8 tons, which did not go into production due to insufficient armor and weapons. By the end of 1929, a prototype of a more advanced tank, which received the designation Type 2589, was put into service under the name Yi-Go.
The production of the tank lasted from 1931 to 1939, in various sources the numbers from 230 to 404 produced vehicles are reported.
The main armament of the tank on the first samples was the 37-mm gun Type 11, on mass-produced machines it was replaced with the 57-mm gun Type 90 with a barrel length of 18.4 caliber. Since 1937, tanks have been re-equipped with new Type-97 57 mm cannons with similar characteristics. Ammunition of the tank was 100 shots, and initially armor-piercing shells were not included in it at all. Auxiliary armament of the tank was two 6.5-mm machine gun Type 91. One of the machine guns was in the front hull plate, initially in the right side, and on the Otsu version - in the left. The second machine gun was located in the stern of the turret, on the first modification strictly in the center, and starting with the variant “Otsu” with a modified form of the turret - in its left part. Ammunition machine guns was 2,750 rounds of ammunition in stores of 50 rounds.
In general, the Type 89 suspension design was quite archaic for the 1930s. Of the 9 small-diameter support rollers of each side, 8 were blocked in pairs in trucks with spring suspension, and the front, 9th roller had an independent spring suspension. The whole suspension was closed with armored bulwarks. The leading rear rollers (after the Type 89, all Japanese tanks were made with front leading rollers), pinching of the tracks. The tanks of the “Koo” modification were equipped with large-hulled tracks, with the “Otsu” modification replaced by more durable small-hanger. The width of the tracks in steps truck 150 mm was 305 mm.
A clear picture of modifications Type 89 is missing. There are two clearly defined modifications - the earlier “2589 Koo” and the later “2589 Otsu”, but regarding which of them each of the tanks produced belong to, different sources cite completely different data.
- Medium tank model 89 A (1929) This tank is characterized by its box type hull, short front plate with door to the right, vertical front plate above this with hull machine gun mounted to the right, and small cupola hinged to top of turret. Five small return rollers are mounted along a girder. There are 9 small bogie wheels. The leading bogie wheel is independently mounted, while protective skirting all but covers the suspension. This tank is rear sprocket driven and powered by a gasoline engine. There is a rear turret machine gun, while the main armament is a 57-mm low velocity gun. Traverse 360°.
- Medium tank model 89 B (1929) Also reported as the M2592 (1932), this tank differs from the M 89 A in that it has a long front which combines with the driver's front plate. The turret has been completely redesigned to include a new type of cupola and a more practical aperture for mounting the 57-mm gun. The gasoline engine was replaced by a Diesel engine, but the armament and the armor thickness remain the same.
The early model, also known as the "Type 89 A», was originally produced in 1931-1937. According to the most reputable Japanese sources, this model includes tanks with a gasoline engine, a two-step front hull sheet, a left-wing driver, large-section tracks, and a rounded tower. An improved model, also known as Type 89 B. Different sources differ on which of the Type 89 released for this modification. According to some data, it includes vehicles produced from 1935 with a rectified front hull plate and a 120 l diesel engine. It includes right seat for the driver, more durable tracks and a modified form of the turret. According to others, the release of “2589 Otsu” began as early as 1931 and a common feature of the tanks of this variant was only a flat frontal hull sheet, while the remaining improvements were made to the design of tanks gradually during production.
For the first time, the Type 89 was used in hostilities during the Shanghai incident in 1932. The first 40 Type 89 in the 1st Tank Battalion arrived in Shanghai on February 11, some more were at the disposal of the Marine Corps. In the battles, they showed themselves to be better used in the same Otsu Gata Sencia tanks, which were French-made NC-27s modernized in Japan and from that moment on became the main force of the Japanese armored forces.
During that engagement, the Japanese immediately discovered a serious flaw in the gasoline engine, whose air-cooling vents made it particularly vulnerable to Molotov cocktails. As such, it was decided to scrap the gasoline engine all together and a new diesel engine was produced. This was known as the Yi-Ro "Ko" variant, and rapidly replaced the standard Yi-Ro, with most of these being recalled to the home islands for training purposes.
Additional incidents in China convinced the Japanese that the frontal armor protection of the "Ko" was not adequate against Chinese heavy machine guns, and a second variant, the "Otsu" variant was developed. This featured a significantly improved sloping front armor plate, and is frequently seen fitted with an unditching tail and side skirts in period photos; some examples of the "Ko" were fitted with the same equipment. Later, with the development of the Type 97 Chi-Ha, the prefix "Chi" was adopted as a more or less standard typological nomenclature for all medium armored vehicles in Japanese service, and the Yi-Ro was reclassified "Chi-Ro". This is the name under which it become known in the post WW2 era.
In battles in China in 1937-1938, the Type 89 proved to be quite good, being used solely to support infantry, while the small, mostly outdated, even in comparison with Japanese tanks, and poorly organized Chinese armored vehicles did not offer serious resistance. At the same time, the success of the actions of tank units was limited by the outdated and obstinate tactics of their use, dating back to the times of the First World War, leaving tanks, in fact, exclusively the role of mobile armored firing points to accompany the infantry.
The Type 89 showed very different results in the battles at Khalkhin Gol in 1939. It was then that the extremely low anti-tank qualities of the 57-mm guns of the Type 90 and Type 97, which the Japanese persistently ignored for many years, led to their defeat. The battle was attended by 34 Type 89 tanks, including the early model "Type 89 Koo", which were part of the 3rd and 4th Tank Regiments. Most of them were lost in the first days of the battle from the fire of 45-mm tank and anti-tank guns, surpassing Japanese guns in firing range and easily penetrating the thin armor of Japanese tanks, and by the end of the fighting the Japanese had lost almost all their armored vehicles. It was the battles at Khalkhin-Gol that demonstrated the obsolescence of both the Japanese technique and the tactics of its use.
By the beginning of the fighting in the Pacific, Type 89, although hopelessly outdated, still remained in the ranks of the Japanese army. In the fighting in Malaya, the slow-moving and low-passing Type 89 did not take part, but in 1942 the 34 Type 89 as part of the 7th Tank Regiment took part in the capture of the Philippines, where they suffered significant losses. Additionally, some examples were deployed in Burma, the Malaya-Singapore Campaign, and in the Philippines. In 1942, however, the Chi-Ro was withdrawn from Pacific service and most examples available were shipped to China. A few were retained in Japan as training vehicles. Some were occasionally encountered by American and Commonwealth forces through the end of the war, however. Type 89 armor was easily penetrated even by large-caliber machine guns, although in general, being used in the Philippines to support infantry, they proved to be quite good for such an outdated design. The surviving machines remained in the Philippines until 1944, when they had to defend them against the offensive of the American troops.
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